WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – In their second and final matchup of the Shooting Touch Classic, the Williams Ephs (4-4, 0-0 NESCAC), led by a season-high 21 points from guard
Maggie Meehan '22, defeated the Babson Beavers (6-2, 0-0 NEWMAC) 63-56 despite allowing a whopping 30 offensive rebounds.
Meehan and forward
Maddy Mandyck '23 earned All-Tournament honors following the win, which brought Williams back to .500 and clinched the only 2-0 record in the tournament.
"Maggie and Maddie scored key points, got key rebounds, and showed a lot of composure," remarked Eph head coach
Pat Manning following the victory. "We expect a lot out of [Meehan and Mandyck], and they deliver for us."
After scoring 12 points despite being held scoreless in the first half against Cabrini yesterday, Meehan scored 10 points in the first half and 11 more in the second. Mandyck and guard
Ryann Taylor '25 each added 13 points, and Mandyck led the Ephs with seven rebounds.
Babson forward Madison Odam put forth a fantastic effort throughout, scoring a team-high 17 points and grabbing 19 rebounds, nine of which came on offense. Guard Kelly Walsh, who also earned an All-Tournament selection, added 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Ephs raced out to an early 10-2 lead, but after a Babson timeout, the Beavers rallied to tie the game at 10 before Mandyck scored a late basket to give the Ephs a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter, which featured eight lead changes, ended with a 9-2 Williams run, capped off by a jumper by Meehan with just two seconds left on the clock. Despite getting outrebounded 28-15, including a 13-3 margin on offensive rebounds, the Ephs still led 29-23 at halftime on the heels of 13 for 31 (41.9%) shooting. The rebounding margin didn't change – at the end of the game, Babson had a 55-32 advantage overall – but neither did the lead, thanks to Williams' efficiency on offense.
"We gave up way too many O-boards," admitted Manning. "But when we played with the pace that we wanted, we got some good shots."
The two teams traded runs in the third quarter, and Babson managed to cut the deficit from six to four. The Ephs started the second half with a 6-0 run spearheaded by a three-pointer by Meehan and a jump shot by Taylor, giving them a game-high 12-point lead. But the Beavers clawed back, immediately going on a 7-0 run of their own and holding serve with the Ephs for the rest of the quarter to make it 43-39 going into the fourth.
The Ephs, however, extended their lead to begin the fourth quarter with a three by Taylor and a layup by Gerig. With just under six minutes to go, Towle made a layup off a pinpoint outlet pass by Meehan to give the Ephs a double-digit lead once again at 53-43. The Ephs didn't let the Beavers to get within less than seven points for the rest of the game.
After pressuring Cabrini into 24 turnovers in the first game of the tournament, the Ephs forced Babson into 22 more despite the Beavers' advantage on the boards. While the Beavers shot just 22 for 73 (30.1%), the Ephs enjoyed an efficient game from the field, going 26 for 59 (44.1%) despite shooting just 3 of 12 (25.0%) from deep. The Ephs held the lead for 37:17, including the entire second half, compared to just 1:10 for the Beavers.
Following the tournament sweep, Manning is excited about the team's trajectory going forward, even against the strong competition the Ephs will face in the coming weeks. "We have a challenging road ahead and we have to work on maintaining consistency, but this is probably the best game that we've played, especially on the defensive end. I'm really excited about the growth of this team."
On Tuesday, the Ephs will look to continue their winning streak against another 6-1 team on the road against Smith.
